Smart Business Sense At Tidal Creek Growers Yields Success
October 5, 2015 Jake Van Wingerden’s business acumen brought him to where he is today — dialing in on profitability, despite a fiercely competitive market. As the owner of Maryland-based Tidal Creek Growers, Van Wingerden has the uncanny ability to focus in on what makes the most sense for his business and leave unprofitable ventures behind. He isn’t afraid to say no to a program, price or crop that isn’t advantageous to his company. And that philosophy has seen Tidal Creek Growers through a long-term period of steady growth since it opened for business in 2002, to the point that the operation has moved onto Greenhouse Grower’s Top 100 list at No. 98.
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Diversifying Revenue Grows The Business
Tidal Creek Growers started out as a contract business on 2 acres of abandoned greenhouses in Earleville, Md. Over the years, Van Wingerden added in his own products, and today, Tidal Creek Growers is 35 percent contract growing and 65 percent direct sales to independent garden centers.
The operation now includes 621,455 square feet of environmentally controlled greenhouse space, 6 acres of shadehouses and 11 acres of field production. Two locations in Earleville and Davidsonville, Md., service the needs of customers in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Prior to starting his company, Van Wingerden worked as general manager of Cherry Creek Systems, a greenhouse equipment company owned by his father, Arie Van Wingerden. The contacts he made there proved invaluable when he struck out on his own. Ivy Acres, an operation he worked with at Cherry Creek, gave him one of his first contracts. Dan Schantz Farm and Greenhouse was another initial customer that continues to be one of Tidal Creek Growers’ largest contract customers to date.
Doubling An Operation Size Requires Careful Planning
A major milestone for Tidal Creek occurred in 2012, when the company took over Homestead Growers, a 9-acre production facility in Davidsonville, Md. Van Wingerden says almost overnight his business and production team doubled in size. With the transaction, the retail division Homestead Gardens became one of his largest customers.
The transition was not without its challenges, namely taking what was formerly a struggling arm of a retail company and turning it into a profitable wholesale production company.
“When the Davidsonville opportunity came along, there were a lot of changes with location and personnel to the types of plants we grew,” says Mike Leubecker, head grower at Tidal Creek Growers. “Over the last four years, we have focused tremendously on what product lines will be profitable and streamlined production practices. It takes planning. You have to be discerning and give it a lot of thought, because you can’t grow everything the garden centers ask for.”
One challenge the Davidsonville facility brought with it was a logistical one, as for a time Tidal Creek Growers operated out of three facilities. A recent 100,000-square-foot addition at Earleville solved the problem, allowing the company to go from three facilities down to two. It also greatly enhanced production and labor efficiencies. The two facilities help keep the contract growing separate from the independent garden center business, since each has different needs.
Quality Comes First At Tidal Creek
From a quality and service standpoint, Van Wingerden says he knows Tidal Creek Growers is only as good as the last load his teams at the Davidsonville and Earleville facilities deliver. To be superior to its competition and retain customers, the company has to make quality a top priority, followed closely by customer service.
In the Mid-Atlantic area, there is no shortage of growers. As a result, Van Wingerden says he gets almost no preorders. Everything is done on a weekly availability basis. His production plan each year is based on historical sales and what he thinks he will be able to sell on a week-to-week basis. With several other growers in the area doing the same thing, it is easy for customers to jump ship when things don’t go their way.
“I tell my team every load we deliver needs to be good quality,” he says. “And we have to do exactly what we said we would do or our customers will find it easy to buy from someone else the next time around.”
Tidal Creek is successful at delivering on quality and service because it has a strong team working behind the scenes. And the company has an experienced management team leading the way.
Head Grower Mike Leubecker has been with the company for nearly 10 years. He is the site manager for the Davidsonville facility and also does production planning and purchasing. Mark Bleezarde is the site manager for the Earleville facility, and Alexis Moretti works as the sales manager in charge of all customer relations on the independent side. Van Wingerden still handles all the relationships with the contracts.
Branding Separates Tidal Creek Growers From The Competition
As another way to distinguish himself from his competitors, Van Wingerden developed three Tidal Creek Growers brands that are sold exclusively to retail garden centers. Each one is named after his three daughters.
He says the brands help his company stand out, and they also help his customers, because the independent garden center market is so competitive.
“The independent garden centers are trying to differentiate themselves from the big boxes with the brands they carry,” he says. “We feel like our brands give them one more reason to buy from us versus someone else. It gives us our own little niche.”
Ashley’s Annuals is a premium line of items like New Guinea Impatiens, Lantana and Geraniums. The perennial line is called Grace’s Gardens, and Emma’s Ornamentals is a 3-gallon program of Hydrangeas and Buddleias. Chef Jeff rounds out the brands with a line of vegetables and herbs.
Looking Ahead With Long-Term Growth In Sight
Going forward, Van Wingerden says he sees room for expansion on both the contract and independent garden center side of Tidal Creek Growers, and he hopes to add a couple of acres of space every few years to make that happen. As with everything he does, nothing is short term. Every decision he makes is carefully thought out with long-term-goals, and of course, profitability in mind.
For more on Tidal Creek Growers:
“Fine-Tuning Greenhouse Contract Growing Keeps Costs In Line At Tidal Creek Growers”
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